The Accidental Keyhand

Starred review from March 15, 2014
A frustrated would-be hero from New Jersey and her teenage slacker brother fall into a library that lies outside of time. Chaos ensues. Pursuing an errant mongoose into a back closet of their local public library, Dorrie and Marcus drop through a hole that's suddenly opened at the back. They find themselves greeted with a sharp mix of warmth and suspicion by the residents of Petrarch's Library--a sprawling institution composed of book stacks from many eras and time portals run by Hypatia with help from renowned Lybrarians like Casanova and other historical figures. Dorrie catches fire when she learns that after rigorous training in library skills and martial arts, professional Lybrarians are sent through said portals to rescue historically threatened writers and books. She earns her apprenticeship (as does Marcus) in a wild, climactic and sequel-positioning attempt to recover from vicious thieves a device that will open portals to the Library from any "wheren" (i.e., time or place). Downey accurately conveys to today's reading masses the true scope of library science (highlighted by Lybrarian Games at the Midsummer Lybrarians' Conference that include timed scroll-shelving, book-cart racing, rappelling and dagger throwing--how did she know?). She also shows a rare gift for crafting scrambles so madcap that it's hard to turn the pages fast enough to keep up. Well worth a spot on library shelves...but it won't stay there long. (Fantasy. 10-13)

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April 1, 2014

Gr 4-6-Dorrie and Marcus literally drop into a strange new world when they crash through the floor of their otherwise-average New Jersey library and into a library that transcends space and time. The siblings discover they have landed in Petrarch's Library, a web of libraries from different places and times, with doorways to ancient Greece and modern-day Passaic. Here "lybrarians" train to become agents, or "ninja librarians" as Marcus calls them, who go on missions to rescue imperiled writers, including Socrates. Dorrie and her brother use their temporary stay in Petrarch's Library to become apprentices, learning swordplay from Cyrano de Bergerac and the deceptive arts from Casanova. As the pair attempt to return an accidentally stolen document to the archives, they uncover other secrets and mysteries. The lead-up to the kids' discovery of Petrarch's Library is a little slow and the foreshadowing is a bit heavy-handed, but once in the Library, the melding of fantasy, adventure, and history is enlightening. Dorrie is a smart, observant, wannabe sword fighter, while Marcus is the typical teenage brother: a mix of hormones and sarcasm, tempered by a genuine concern for his younger sister. For the most part, the numerous supporting characters have distinct personalities and their special talents and knowledge seem natural. The Library is a vivid, well-drawn world, which helps to compensate for weaker aspects of the plot. Readers who miss the collegial, magical setting of Hogwarts will enjoy exploring Petrarch's Library.-Marian McLeod, Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich, CT

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2014
Grades 4-6 Dorrie wants so badly to be a hero, to fight with her sword and triumph over evil. Sadly, she's stuck fencing local bullies like Tiffany Tolliver, the middle-school mean girl, to protect the honor of her favorite librarian and swordplay teacher, Mr. Kornberger. Things get terribly interesting when she and her Star Warsloving older brother, Marcus, fall into Petrarch's library, a magical portal to libraries throughout time and space and home to a secret society called the Lybrariad. These heroic lybrarians are trained to conjure objects out of thin air by reading descriptions from books and to rescue any outspoken individual from censorship or worse (while still shushing, of course). Delightfully funny from the first page, where Dorrie laments having never been bitten by anything more bloodthirsty than her little sister, this middle-grade time-travel adventure is surprisingly full of fun and action (and a madcap mongoose). Downey's hilarious debut is perfect for any library-loving reader as well as those who never considered librarians to be cool.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)